Kruppstahl

Suggesting it on a discussion forum where people are here to discuss hockey is fine. But it's just highly unlikely to happen. Botterill will run his course and be fired at some point in time. The question is when. When he goes, Pegula will likely conduct another GM search and that GM will be hired and name his own head coach.

I believe I heard on the radio that Dea is expected to be processed through the hockey passion erasure program (HPEP) today in preparation for tomorrow's game against Columbus.

The Sabres have been on a hot streak of new lows going on nearly a decade now. And yet last night was definitely another new one. F-ing Habs fans singing the "Ole" song in Buffalo as Buffalo was about to go down to defeat in their own building. That ***** made me sick to my stomach. I'm old enough to have a genuine hatred for the Canadiens going back to playoff rivalries decades ago. That one really hurt! Does Pegula notice this stuff? He's older than I am. I hope it made him sick to his stomach as well.

He's one of Laval's finest; all 168 pounds of him. Expect him to do nothing.

I have noticed that for quite a while now, fans have suggested this idea of firing Botterill but retaining Ralph and maybe also elevating him to GM in the process. I have no idea where that comes from. I guess people figure Botterill is not a quality mind and the organization should move on from him, but that Ralph is a quality mind who should be retained for the organization's benefit in some way. As you point out, they will likely both go as a pair. No new GM is going to retain Ralph as his coach, unless he was ordered to do so by Pegula prior to hiring...and a guy who agrees to that is not the guy you want as your GM in the first place.

The "Hey Jason" song is good! I like the attention to detail in all the lyrics. Well done!

Schopp would definitely NOT have cut the call short and he would definitely have used it as an opportunity to go off on the organization. They dedicated several hours to that last week.

Many people have put this theory forward. I think it is possible this is what's going on. We'll know it was NOT what was going on when Botterill gets fired, if he does. If he stays despite the ugliness that is going to unfold, this theory may gain some credibility.

They talk all the time about how not many call the show, straight up. That's why they don't take a lot of calls. And it's not that select only the worst callers; they are looking for intelligent, informed callers, believe me. What they get is what they get. This is WNY we are talking about.

Fire both of them commensurately with hiring Mike Babcock to be Team President, GM, and HC. Or whatever else he wants to be. Give him total control or whatever else he wants. I know his stock is way down right now. That's perfect. He might actually come here this time around.

No, not Pink Floyd. It's Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same.

Not sure what you mean about the Tweet about Duane's call. Was this at Twitter or WGR-550's website? It's worth pointing out that the direct link to the recording of Duane's phone call in the online audio vault is still there!

The call came about 10 minutes into Hour 4. Here you go: https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-30-hr-1-schopp-the-bulldog

This is absolutely fantastic. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-29-caller-duanes-sabres-rant

Neither! How about acquiring and playing good hockey players? Radical idea, huh? Pommer was a great player, fifteen years ago.

I expect Hutton to be used heavily while Ullmark is out. Johansson will play after Hutton has looked terrible in several games and Ralph has no choice but to try the kid.

On the 4th line. He is way over his head where he is being used right now. But I would cite him and Joker as the only 2 adds to the team I like under Botterill, aside from Skinner.

Fair enough, I guess, but wins just lessen our draft position in every round of the coming draft. I was just thinking: this prolonged period of total suckage falls directly on Pegula. It was on his watch that LaFontaine came on to hire GMTM and now Botterill. No one running this franchise for quite a few years now has a f-ing clue as to what they are doing, or any experience to speak of in such a role. Does anyone wonder why it's all gone straight in the shitter?

Yes, very similar to the odds of the Bills missing the playoffs for all those years. Was it 17? I believe the ESPN stat guys had it at like 6 or 8 million to 1.

I wouldn't trade Dahlin, but Inkman's thinking here is spot on. Without a shakeup that impacts the core of this team, we are going nowhere. Now ask yourselves who we have that might garner serious interest around the league and result in quality coming back at us. The only real name is Sam Reinhart, with honorable mention going to Risto, who I think still does have some value. This is yet another reason to move on from Reinhart. I would LOVE to see Reinhart and Risto both gone after the deadline as part of 1 or 2 packages of moves with multiple assets coming back to the Sabres. The problem is, even if these moves were to be made, they would be made according to what Botterill likes, and that is not a winning formula. Which is why I would love to see Botterill gone before the big moves happen, but that's not going to happen! So now we have to pray he not only get these moves done, but he gets lucky in terms of the players coming back. This guy thinks Sheary/Montour/Vesey/ type players are good pieces on a winning hockey team. So we have problems, of course.

The Sabres would be in the American league for quite a few seasons now!

I expect us to be sellers at the deadline. I hope he can use the deadline to FINALLY put together a large deal perhaps involving multiple players. Contrary to what some posters here like to suggest, this team needs to be substantially replaced with fresh blood. Lots of fresh blood. We can't ship enough of these deadbeats out the door. Of course, Botterill rarely does what needs to be done. Maybe he will make no moves of any kind at the deadline! I think a mob would march on the arena downtown if that happens. That could be entertaining.

There's no way in hell this team digs out of this hole this season with this many games left. They are not nearly good enough to produce consistently enough to be able to do that. The highlight of this season will be the trade deadline. Try to enjoy it!

Why? He is one of the few people who routinely calls out the garbage product the Sabres franchise produces. The way he asked BOGO last year after another loss "Has this team already quit on the season?!" was fantastic.

I would love to hear some "Botterill must go" chants at home games or anything similar. How about "We're not gonna take it anymore" chants, Twisted Sister style? Come on Sabres fans! Do something!